SECRET METHODS OF CURE. 203 
of the following preparation: Make a decoction of Culantrillo 
de pozo boiled alone, cool it, and when cool add a lump of’ re- 
fined sugar. Should this not stanch the blood, repeat the dose 
after an interval of eight hours, and give a third dose after a 
like interval if the second should not produce the desired 
effect. In the last case give for a beverage river mater. 
Should the blood still flow from some tooth, or from the 
mouth, make a decoction of Almaciga, Cloves, and Cinnamon 
in white wine; apply it to the bitten part as a fomentation, and 
give a teaspoonful of the same internally. This will stanch 
the blood. 
In every case of snake-bite open the wound with a lancet or 
knife, from fang-wound to fang-wound, in the form of a cross ; 
rub the cut with two fingers till the blood flows from it, and 
when this ceases, apply to it a plaster composed of powdered 
tobacco, garlic, and valdivia, covering it over with a layer of 
beeswax. Rub the bitten member above the bite with the 
same composition of the plaster and rum; should these parts 
be swollen, steam them as follows: Make a decoction of Al- 
concito (Arist. Colombiana), add a few bitter orange leaves ; 
the decoction must be made in an earthenware pot never used 
before. When it has boiled sufficiently, tie a plantain leaf 
over its mouth, and cut a short slit in the centre of the leaf, 
placing the arm or leg over the slit, and covering it with a 
cloth so as to exclude the air, and so that the swollen part 
may be exposed to the hot vapor. 
Repeat the steaming operation three times, and if the swell- 
ing should not have diminished after the third time, although 
the patient may have perspired freely, cover the swollen parts 
with taz-taz leaves, heated in the sun, and then again over live 
coals, applying fresh leaves every time they become saturated 
with the perspiration. In case the taz-taz cannot be procured, 
use leaves of the Abraza palo in the same manner, and con- 
